Joined: 01 Oct 2006Posts: 9123Location: The thing in itself that is Will

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 3:39 pm Post subject:

I think the best way to go is a 1045t for cpu. Just looked up my rig for about 400usd ( I have a videocard already, and buying windows....)_________________When life gives you lemons, some people make lemonade. I just eat them and make a sour face.

I think the last page of this thread is a really good example of why I love Sinfest so much.

I really appreciate the advice.

Usagi: It's good to know it isn't as hopeless as everyone else I've talked to has said. I get really cranky when I have to learn a brand new operating system, so I'm probably still going to avoid it for a while if I can. I very much like being able to troubleshoot my own computer, especially as I expect getting my software moved over is going to be fairly terrible as it is.

Dogen: Yeah, I'm still kinda shooting for the pre-built system, at least because that was the point of it. It was one that I could update as my needs grew. As is, it'll work, and as needs change I could dip my feet in the whole upgrading thing. Can't really do that with my current laptop. Not easily and not in a way that really makes it worthwhile._________________Samsally the GrayAce

Joined: 01 Oct 2006Posts: 9123Location: The thing in itself that is Will

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 6:12 pm Post subject:

Perhaps something to think about: Get a good motherboard, psu and gpu and get an entry level celeron; then upgrade to a i7 in a year or so. Or, just go for the i5 now! I think that will still allow you to game (at 1080p) and will give you the best platform to build on for the next few years, and for times when you might have 200 dollars extra lying around.

(the 1045t is not a gaming cpu, but I love it since I do video editing and for the price it is nigh unbeatable. The 100 dollars you save is sinked into an gtx660, but could just as well be a 7850, or higher with a few tenners more).

edit: i guess the psu isnt to reliable, but for 15 more you have a better one, which there is room for in the first build (like in fritterdonuts build, although the 40 dollar one is 80+ certified... strange )_________________When life gives you lemons, some people make lemonade. I just eat them and make a sour face.

Joined: 01 Oct 2006Posts: 9123Location: The thing in itself that is Will

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 7:32 pm Post subject:

If you take the second built and you circumvent buying windows and downgrade the gpu to the 7770, you will have a good rig for 500 dollars. Buying a computer right now is tricky cause the software is way behind the hardware, but also great. A built with the celeron g530 will tide you over the year for 400 dollars until you can drop some money on a much better processor. The amount of bang for your buck right now is incredible._________________When life gives you lemons, some people make lemonade. I just eat them and make a sour face.

There's also a real budget option with the AMD A10-5800K. Workable with the integrated GPU, but upgradeable later down the line._________________“Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation”
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.

There's also a real budget option with the AMD A10-5800K. Workable with the integrated GPU, but upgradeable later down the line.

I've got an A8-4500M with the integrated graphics and can confirm that it will play most games with decent framerates at decent resolutions, and apparently is superior to Ivy Bridge's integrated graphics.

Given that's the mobile version I'd suspect the desktop version would perform even better. Perhaps not ideal for the hard core gamer, but if you wanted a cheap machine that could do work and play games at good resolutions it might be something you could look in to. Also simplifies the build and can be built into smaller cases since you don't need room for a full size GPU.

On a semi-related note, I want a Raspberry Pi (http://www.raspberrypi.org/) really bad but every shop in the local area that had them is completely sold out. Looks like I'm stuck with playing with the Arduino for a while yet._________________Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while, I think I see my brother coming, riding many a mile.

I'm posting this from a half-broken laptop that had to be partially bolted to the wall in order to be functional.

I'm working on a second undergraduate degree in computer science (mostly programming); you'd think I'd have a better set-up. But no. My drawing tablet is worth twice as much as my computer._________________butts

On a semi-related note, I want a Raspberry Pi (http://www.raspberrypi.org/) really bad but every shop in the local area that had them is completely sold out. Looks like I'm stuck with playing with the Arduino for a while yet.

In what country do you live? If you're in the US, Amazon has the B type, 512mb version in stock for $46 (but eligible for free shipping), and www.newark.com is expected to get almost a thousand units in, next week ($35ea, but no free shipping). Can't help you outside the US :-/

The Cubieboard is the one I've currently got my eye on, but stock is more problematic._________________“Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation”
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.

Well that's easy. Newark ships to Canada. Their inventory estimates are usually pretty good - I've had to rely on them for work in past._________________“Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation”
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.

Appropos of absolutely nothing at all, I'd like to note that reading "Mechanically Separated Chicken" in the list of ingredients makes me feel--very briefly--a bit uncomfortable with vienna sausages._________________I am only a somewhat arbitrary sequence of raised and lowered voltages to which your mind insists upon assigning meaning

If you go with linux or a pirate windows, you can put together a serviceable and expandable system for less than $300.

Also thanks for the heads up CTrees on Newarks. I'll have to look into it.

Also, if I get some time this week I'll try making a step-by-step tutorial of putting together a desktop from scratch and post it up somewhere in case people are looking for one._________________Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while, I think I see my brother coming, riding many a mile.

I dunno why anyone would pirate Windows, though. The only thing I use that needs Windows is paint tool SAI and I like MyPaint just as well anyways. And it sounds strange, but I think certain linux distros are more user-friendly than Windows nowadays, too.

For instance, I have a relative who occasionally requires help with even simple tasks such as sending email, and he has an easier time with things on Ubuntu.

Pretty much the only scenario I would ever use Windows in would be working for a corporation that required Microsoft crap, and that definitely precludes pirating it. This is closely related to the only situation in which I would use OS X, which would be to develop for iOS - which also happens to be the only reason I would ever use an iPhone...

In summary, even after spending however long thinking about it as it took to write this post, I still don't understand why anyone would try to pirate Windows, especially since whatever money saved is probably nullified by the effort involved in getting a functional installation free of malware._________________butts